Ep #144 8 Emotional Capacities Every Parent Needs (But No One Teaches You)

Hey hey, beautiful people! ✨

Oh. My. Goodness. So picture this: I'm on a call with this mom (let's call her Sarah) who's completely stuck in the yell-guilt-repeat cycle (sound familiar, anyone? 🙋‍♀️). She's exhausted, beating herself up, and right in the middle of our session - BOOM - everything clicked. And I thought, "This isn't just for her. EVERYONE needs to hear this!"

Here's the game-changer, my friends: What if instead of trying to STOP feeling triggered, we developed the capacity to feel EVERYTHING and still parent from our highest self?

Her face changed instantly. Mine probably did too. Because this is IT - the missing piece in so many parenting journeys (including my own baby powder blizzard days... if you know, you KNOW).

I'm sharing the 8 emotional capacities that have transformed my own reactive parenting into connected parenting. They're practical emotional MUSCLES that every single one of us can strengthen starting TODAY.

The 8 Emotional Capacities That Changed My Life (and can change yours too!):

1. The capacity to hold space for big emotions - Remember my Machu Picchu meltdown story with my daughter? That moment when I learned to be the calm in her emotional storm without getting sucked into the vortex? GAME. CHANGER.
2. The capacity to accept what is - This one's all about courage, my friends. When my client's daughter wasn't invited to the birthday party and everyone else was... oof. But accepting reality doesn't mean you like it - it means you stop wasting energy fighting against it!
3. The capacity to feel without reacting - That baby powder blizzard moment when I paused instead of exploding? The anger was STILL THERE, but I didn't let it drive the car. Mind. Blown.
4. The capacity to recover after disconnection - Because let's be real, we ALL lose it sometimes. Perfect parents don't exist (and if you meet one, they're either lying or selling something, lol).
5. The capacity to set limits with connection - My gentle parents crew, this one's for YOU. Firmness + compassion = parenting magic.
6. The capacity to trust the process - Just like those tulip bulbs I planted at our cabin 10 years ago (side note: WHO KNEW they'd actually grow in the mountains??), parenting is the ultimate long game.
7. The capacity to stay curious instead of judgmental - When my client's teen was slamming doors and eye-rolling, her judgment was blocking the truth. The moment she got curious? She discovered he was being BULLIED.
8. The capacity to choose connection when you want to correct - Remember my story about the nail polish on the brand new couch? That moment of choosing my daughter over furniture STILL gives me chills.

Listen, for everything you haven't done that you WANT to do as a parent - for every reaction you've had that you wish hadn't happened - there is an emotion you're avoiding feeling that's in the way.

You can't take your kids beyond your own emotional capacity. If you can't handle big emotions yourself, how can you possibly help your child navigate theirs?

I'm challenging you to pick ONE capacity this week. Just one! Message me on Instagram @ConnectMethodParenting and tell me which one you're working on. I'd absolutely LOVE to hear from you!

Remember, this isn't about perfection - it's about progression. And every time you stretch your emotional capacity, you're creating more space for connection with your kiddos.

Go connect with your kids! (And if you haven't subscribed or left a review yet, it would mean the WORLD to me! 💕)

xo, Andee

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